


We're going on a bear hunt

by kittykaty



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 17:17:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10746261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittykaty/pseuds/kittykaty
Summary: Sho and Aiba are told to go on a bear hunt for a documentary. Is this finally Sho's chance to confess?





	We're going on a bear hunt

**Author's Note:**

> I think I wrote this for some kind of exchange... someone wanted SakurAiba out in the nature with Aiba being the capable one while Sho is being quite useless. I hope I managed this well^^;

Sho felt hot all over his body. His T-Shirt was sticking to his chest because of the sweat and his breath was going heavy. He watched Aiba's soft movements in front of him and asked himself how he had managed to bring himself into this situation.

Well, it must have been Nino's persistence that it would be better if Sho did it, a bit of Jun's amused look, Ohno's sleepy smile and a lot of Aiba's big puppy eyes. Otherwise, he would have never agreed to take this trip with Aiba to the middle of nowhere just to find an Asiatic Black Bear. When Aiba had suggested making a documentary about him looking for the bear, their producer was fire and flame immediately. However, it was decided that Aiba would not be doing this alone but with another member. Since everybody in Arashi, except for Aiba, knew that Sho had a thing for the hyper man, the other members indicated to Sho that this was his chance. They did not only convince their producers and Aiba that it would be best to take Sho along, they also managed to persuade the rapper himself into saying yes to the whole thing.

So, that's how he ended up in the mountains in the Gifu prefecture with just Aiba, two huge rucksacks and their own little cameras (because apparently the budget for the show was not enough to pay for a camera team).

Suddenly, Aiba stopped and Sho bumped into his object of desire. He looked over Aiba's shoulder to find out why the other one decided to stop moving so abruptly.

“Ne, Sho-chan, I think we have to turn right.” Aiba said, studying the map they had been given intensively. Since they had argued that the viewers want to see the Arashi members surviving in the wilderness, they could not be equipped with any technical device so they were without a mobile phone and GPS.

Since Aiba was obviously waiting for an answer, Sho looked at the map too, just to gasp a second later.

“You're holding it the wrong way round.” he complained, grabbed the paper and turned it around. He started to wonder if they were really at the point Aiba thought they were. He should have paid more attention to the way instead of thinking about the tall man. It was definitely a bad idea to let Aiba be the guide.

“From now on I will take care of the way.” he decided and started to move again.

Aiba seemed to have accepted Sho's decision. He was humming a song Sho did not know, but maybe it was simply a melody the younger one had just thought of. Aiba probably didn't even realize that he was humming.

Sho glanced sideways at him. A soft smile was painted on his face and Aiba seemed to be completely satisfied with the whole situation. It was always so easy to make Aiba content: a coffee bought in a rush at the shop nearby the studio or the simple promise to hang out with him in the evening could elicit Aiba's wonderful sunshine-like smile that Sho loved so much. Aiba was someone who could be happy about the simple things in life, and Sho adored him a lot because of this attitude. To take things as they are and always find a positive way out of it was another of Aiba's strengths, another point Sho loved about the tall man. Sometimes, things had looked really gloomy for Sho, but after talking with Aiba about it, he had realized that it could have been worse and that he shouldn't whine about something like that and rather keep on moving forward. Aiba was his source of strength for all the work he had to do. A smile from Aiba and the world suddenly looked brighter to Sho. A breathy laugh and Sho felt like nothing could ever stop him again. A light touch and Sho was sure life was the easiest thing in the world. He would never be able to live without this man. However, Aiba was a bit slow in realizing things, which was one of the points he really should work on...

“I think this crossroad is not on the map anymore.” Aiba suddenly pointed out, and Sho realized in terror that he had simply been walking for the past 10 minutes without looking at the map he was still holding in his hands. Alarmed, he checked the lines on the map again just to realize that Aiba was right.

“You looked so deeply in thought so I didn't want to disturb you.” Aiba explained and looked around.

“You should have!” Sho replied slightly panicked and tried to find something on the map he might remember. “Now we don't know where we are!”

“That's okay. I'm sure bears are in this area here too.” Aiba gave back and smiled at Sho. There they were again, Aiba being able to find the positive side of a completely screwed up situation.

 

“I think here is fine!” Aiba said and pointed at a small clearing between the trees.

They had been walking for another hour but unfortunately, they did not come across anything they recognized. Sho was feeling guilty for leading them into the wilderness without a hint of how to go back, but Aiba had been cheerful as ever, squealing happily whenever they came across a plant or little animal he knew. In the end, Sho gave up looking for a way back and began to enjoy the nature around him as well. He felt that he was beginning to relax and started to understand what Aiba liked about being outside.

The clearing Aiba had found was really idyllic and Sho agreed that it was a good place to stay for the night. While Sho was still looking around, Aiba had already begun to unpack all the necessary parts of their tent. He had set up tents for several other TV Shows before, so he was quite used to doing it. When Sho tried to help, Aiba ushered him away, telling him to simply watch and have a rest. This order left Sho with a lot of time to watch Aiba working on setting up the tent.

Sho knew he was staring at the tall man, but he simply loved seeing Aiba in action. His long slender fingers worked quickly on tying the guy ropes together. As it was quite warm, Aiba shirt was clinging to his body. He wasn't muscular or sinuous, but Sho loved the slender, flexible body of Aiba. Sho's eyes wandered upwards to Aiba's face. Whenever the younger man was concentrating hardly, he would stick his tongue out a bit and Sho's heart skipped a beat when he saw the pink tongue between Aiba's full lips. There wasn't a single centimetre on Aiba's body that Sho didn't like. He loved Aiba's whole being to bits and he knew that he wasn't very good in concealing it. Jun had been the first one to realize Sho's interest in Aiba, followed by Nino and finally also by Ohno (although Sho wasn't sure if Nino or Jun had given him a hint or not). Even their managers were trying to let Aiba and Sho spend as much time together as possible, and the staff from their regular shows was trying their best to let the two have many opportunities to stand next to each other. Basically, Sho was wondering how Aiba could not have realized his feelings by now. There was no way the other one could not see how often he was staring at him or how many times he had asked him out for dinner. Still, Aiba was a very naïve person and it drove Sho crazy sometimes that Aiba was not able to see the feelings Sho held for him.

Sho knew that the easiest way out would be to simply confess, but he was too scared and worried to do it. He was sure that everybody, their members, managers and staff, would support them, but if Aiba rejected him, Sho would never be able to look him into the eyes again which would affect their work as a group a lot. So Sho was still hoping that Aiba would realize by himself that he wasn't just a normal friend to Sho. Unfortunately, Aiba could be very slow sometimes.

“I'm done!”

Being lost in his thoughts (again), Sho had not even realized that Aiba had managed to set up the tent. It looked quite steady and Sho was amazed by Aiba's competence. Maybe, he should trust the younger man a bit more.

 

They began to place their belongings into the tent which resulted in them bumping into each other various times since the tent was a bit small (Sho actually suspected the staff went for an extra small tent to help him out).

“Sho-chan, when we're done, let's go and look out for some bears again. We still haven't found them yet.” Aiba said and smiled happily. Sho was rather happy that they hadn't seen any of them yet, but he was clever enough not to tell Aiba that. He agreed, trying to look as enthusiastic as Aiba while he prayed that the bears in this area would be too lazy or shy to come out this afternoon.

They walked for quite a bit but never too far away from their little camp to always be able to find their way back. They were joking around for the sake of their little documentary but luckily did not find any bears or anything similar.

Sho was quite fascinated from the beauty of the rural nature and when Aiba gave him the camera, he began to take some close ups of a plant he had never seen before but looked interesting to him.

“Aiba, do you know what the name of this plant is?” he asked but didn't get an answer. Already panicking, Sho turned around just to see nobody.

“Aiba?” he asked but received nothing but silence as an answer. Sho felt his heart starting to beat faster in panic. Where was he? Did Aiba fall down and hurt himself and he had not realized it? Sho ran back the way they came for a bit but couldn't find any sign of Aiba. He called the taller man's name again but did not get any response. He was getting really frightened that something had happened to Aiba. Maybe he suddenly collapsed due to the humid but still very warm air and was lying around now unconscious. Wild animals could attack him then and there was no way he could defend himself.

Sho rubbed his face. Or maybe Aiba had moved away from the path because he had found something interesting and had moved too far away from the path so he was lost now and walking without orientation, trying to find his way back to the tent.

Sighing, Sho ruffled his hair. He did not know what to do. Would it be better to stay here and wait for Aiba or should he go back to the tent. Should he search for him? If Aiba was hurt, would he be able to help him anyway? His last First Aid training was years back and Sho had simply forgotten how to treat an injured person correctly. Additionally, he was quite bad with seeing blood.

Sho began to walk in circles. Why didn't the producers allow them a mobile phone for emergency cases like that? He could have easily called Aiba and asked him if he was alright...

“Sho-chan, why are you walking in circles?” he suddenly heard Aiba's amused voice and looked up. There he was, Aiba, in his full glory, unharmed, smiling happily at him.

“Where have you been?” Sho asked relieved that Aiba was back.

“I'm sorry, I had to go behind the bush.” Aiba grinned. Sho let out a shaky breath. He had been panicking for nothing. However, he decided to not let Aiba out of his sight again until they were safely back to Tokyo. He didn't need another panic attack like this. It was probably not good for his heart or for his mental health.

“I guess there are no bears around today.” Aiba announced with a sad face. “Maybe we should go back to the tent, make dinner and sleep so we can wake up early tomorrow morning and look for them again.” he suggested and Sho agreed immediately. Hearing that Aiba wanted to go back was the best idea he had been suggested today. Additionally, when they were at the tent, he could keep a better eye on Aiba.

 

Sho was sticking to his intention throughout the whole dinner making process. They had been given a barbecue that they could use only one time and some meat to make a proper dinner. Aiba was amazingly qualified at making a barbecue, and soon the smell of freshly grilled meat hit Sho's nostrils. Unfortunately, they had also been given beer to accompany the BBQ and Sho had drank one bottle already, so he slowly the felt the need to relieve himself.

He looked at Aiba who was taking care of the meat and decided that there would be no better point in time to go behind the bush as well, so he quickly excused himself and made his way towards the thicket that was growing around the little clearing.

Sho tried to be as fast as possible because although Aiba might have looked as if he was okay, nobody knows what he'll do the next second and it might be dangerous for him.

 

When Sho came back to the clearance, his heart stopped beating. Aiba was standing next to the tent, a big black bear opposite of him. Both were looking at each other and did not seem to notice Sho's arrival.

Sho panicked. Aiba was in danger, so he did the only thing that came to his mind. He ran towards the barbecue, turned towards the bear and screamed at him to get his attention. The bear really did look at Sho and became really interested in the meat in Sho's hand. The rapper threw the meat towards the bear who quickly began to inspect what it was. It seemed to be to his liking as he began to chew on the meat.

Sho used the moment to grab Aiba, pull him into the tent, close it behind him and hold Aiba very tight in his arms. Sho knew that if the bear became interested into them again, the tent wouldn't be much of a help as the animal could easily tear it down, but still, he felt that they were a bit safer right now. Most importantly, Aiba was safe now that he was in Sho's arms, pressed tightly against his chest and Sho didn't have any intention of letting him go again.

They stayed like this for a long time, listening to the bear tapping around the clearing, obviously in search of more meat.

Sho's heart was still beating like crazy and his breath was fast and shallow but having Aiba in his arms calmed him down slowly. He could take care of him again now that he was with him. Sho breathed in Aiba's odour. He always smelled like green apples, the kind Sho loved to eat. Aiba's soft hair was ticking Sho on his chin and neck, and Sho couldn't help but grin at the feeling of Aiba's warmth against his skin. He closed his eyes and simply enjoyed their closeness.

“I think the bear is gone by now.” Aiba suddenly said but stayed still in Sho's arms.

It was only then that Sho realized in what kind of a situation they were in. During his panic attack , he had not cared at all about any of the rules he had set on himself about not hugging Aiba, but when he had finally held the other one in his arms, his brain had shut down and Sho had just drowned in the feeling of having Aiba close to him.

“I'm sorry...” he stuttered and loosened his grip around Aiba.

“But you don't necessarily have to let go.” the tall man replied and snuggled closer to Sho who blinked a few times, trying to process what he was just been told.

“You like it?” Sho asked unsure and tightened his grip around Aiba again.

“Sho-chan's embrace feels good.” the taller man simply stated and yawned. “Let's sleep.” he added then and without slipping out of their hug, Aiba managed to lay down, pulling Sho with him.

It was still light outside, but Aiba fell asleep the second his head touched the pillow. However, Sho was wide awake. Things had happened too fast for his master brain to process and he began to think about the past half an hour again.

He could explain his behaviour of dragging Aiba into the tent and hugging him tight with his panic, but how could Aiba be so natural about the things that just happened. It seemed that he didn't oppose their closeness. Instead, he rather asked for them to stay like that. So, Sho concluded that Aiba must like being hugged by him.

Finally, the happiness of having Aiba in his arms washed over Sho. He decided that if Aiba was not over thinking the whole incident, there was no reason why he should do so. Maybe he should be rather satisfied with their situation as it was everything he had ever dreamed of.

Sho looked at Aiba's soft features. He always looked like an angel to him when he was sleeping. Suddenly, Sho began to grin stupidly and fell back onto his own pillow. He should actually thank the bear for showing up as it was the reason why Aiba landed in Sho's arms after all.

Slowly realizing that he was actually really tired from the whole day, Sho looked at the sleeping Aiba one last time, pulled him a bit closer to him and closed his eyes. He would ask Aiba in the morning about what to do, but for now he should enjoy the night with Aiba in his arms.

 

Sho woke up to some stirring next to him. It took him some seconds to remember where he was and who it was that was lying beside him. When he smelled his favourite odour, Sho smiled and turned his head to look at Aiba. He was yawning, obviously on the brink of waking up as well. Suddenly, all his worries came back to Sho and he wasn't sure how to react when Aiba was fully awake. Should he apologize? Or should he try to explain? What was Aiba thinking and...

“Good morning!” Aiba's voice broke through Sho's thoughts. The tall man snuggled into Sho's chest again and sighed contently.

“I could get used to waking up next to Sho-chan...” he said and yawned again.

Sho's eyes popped open. “Do you like it?”

Aiba nodded. “Yes, it is warm and I feel safe here.”

“And you don't mind?” Sho asked again.

“No, why should I?”

Because he was a man and Sho was too. Because they were bandmates and friends since ages ago. Because it might destroy their friendship or even Arashi and because...

Sho sighed. He was over thinking things again, his old problem. Aiba seemed to be okay with it. So why shouldn't he be?

“But I would also like you to get used to this.” Sho said and moved, so that he was lying on top of Aiba, facing the beautiful face of the tall man. He leaned forward and closed his eyes. A second later, his lips met with Aiba's and they were even softer than Sho had always imagined them to be. It was only a short and very soft kiss, but it sent electric shocks through Sho's whole body while his blood was bubbling in happiness. When they broke apart and Sho opened his eyes again he saw a big smile on Aiba's face, followed by a giggle.

“I think, I can get used to that as well!” he announced and lifted his head to meet Sho's lips again.

 

“...and Sho's face when he saw the bear!” Nino said and giggled while Jun was choking on his tea before he broke out into laughter as well.

“It was hilarious. He was so panicked. Oh, my, I laughed so hard.” he added and Nino was wiping the tears out of his eyes.

They had been laughing about Sho since the past minutes and it didn't seem as if they would stop soon. Sho was only sitting still because Aiba was leaning onto his shoulder and was dozing before their shooting started. He really felt like hitting his band members for making fun of him.

When Aiba and he had left the tent the morning after their “bear attack”, they had been welcomed by the other three band members and a whole filming crew. They had been waiting for the two to wake up and end the filming of the documentary. Sho and Aiba hadn't known, but they had been filmed the whole time by the crew. According to Nino it had been necessary to not inform Sho and Aiba so that the whole documentary would look really realistic, but Sho was sure there had been another reason for their secretiveness.

And about the bear...the bear had been raised by humans in a zoo and was very tame. Aiba had admitted that he had realized that the bear meant no harm, but he had not felt like telling Sho that evening. The bear had been brought there by the film crew because a documentary about a bear hunt without actually finding a bear would have been boring for the watchers. But now, after Sho's fabulous panic attack in which he even rescued Aiba, they had wonderful material.

Still, his band members were having tons of fun talking about this. Sho had asked them why they had not told him that the bear was really tame that evening, but Jun had just grinned at Nino and Ohno had explained it to him. They were sure that this had been Sho's chance to finally tell Aiba about his feelings and in some way or another, it had worked.

Right, Sho thought, it had worked. He had probably increased his chance of getting a heart attack at a very young ages by 200%, but right now he didn't mind at all. Aiba was next to him, his hand tightly holding on to Sho's, his body close to his and Sho knew that when they left the studio, Aiba would accompany him to his flat to stay the night.


End file.
